Chairs, such as dining chairs, are typically available in two versions. That is, a dining chair is either provided pre-assembled or is provided in parts to be assembled by a user. Such a chair which is provided in parts is commonly referred to as a ‘knock-down’ chair.
Knock-down chairs have an advantage in that they take less space when being transported because they can be flat packed. This has the desirable consequence of reducing transportation costs.
However, the wooden frames conventionally used for knock-down chairs can have weaknesses due to faults, such as knots, in the wood and such weaknesses may not always be visible during assembly or manufacture. Such faults may lead to undesirable variations in the strength of the frame. Moreover, slight skews, for example due to imperfections in the wood or errors in assembly of standardisation of the manufacture of pre-assembly parts, can lead to the resulting chair having a wobble, which is undesirable and can lead to a chair being returned for replacement.
Softwoods, although significantly less expensive than hardwoods, are particularly prone to drying and age imperfections. Moreover, the use of hardwoods in furniture is tightly regulated to ensure the source of the wood can be traced. Thus the use of hardwood can further increase the cost of a chair having a wooden frame because the wood may only be obtained from certain suppliers.